Wake Forest dumps No. 20 Georgia Tech 75-64

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.(AP) -- When it was over, the ranked team left
the court in eighth place and the unranked team had leapfrogged
into second.

Welcome to the unpredictable Atlantic Coast Conference, where
Wake Forest is quietly moving into contention.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Demon
Deacons closed with a dominating run to beat struggling No. 20
Georgia Tech 75-64 on Saturday night and further jumble the
topsy-turvy league.

Ishmael Smith had the clinching hoop with just over a minute
left and surpassed 1,000 career points for the surging Demon
Deacons (18-5, 8-3), who have won four straight and six of
seven.

Smith had 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds as Wake
Forest jumped over Maryland and inched within a game of
league-leader Duke.

"I think all the pieces are starting to come together," Aminu
said. "We're starting to flow."

The Yellow Jackets (17-8, 5-6), unable to solve their road woes,
are going in the opposite direction. Despite a second straight
quiet game from Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech had the lead midway
through the second half.

The Yellow Jackets were then outscored 15-2 to end the game,
going the final 8:50 without a field goal.

"It was one of those games," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt
said. "At 62-60 we had three really good looks to make it a
two-possession game."

Gani Lawal had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Glen Rice
Jr. added 14 points for Georgia Tech, which dropped to 1-5 in
ACC road games and failed to complete a season sweep of Wake
Forest. They shot just 35 percent from the field and collected
17 turnovers.

"Coach said we stopped them 14 of the last 15 possessions," Wake
Forest big man Chas McFarland said. "That's huge. We just had to
lock down."

The fast-paced, bruising game featured a couple of shoving
matches and was full of momentum swings and streaky play. It
ended with Georgia Tech unable to get a hoop of any kind.

Smith's runner and Tony Woods' putback on consecutive
possessions snapped a tie and put Wake Forest ahead 66-62 with
4:28 left. Woods, ejected from Wake's win over Boston College
Tuesday for a flagrant elbow, hit two free throws with 3:32 left
to put the Demon Deacons ahead 68-62.

With Wake Forest ahead 70-64, Georgia Tech allowed the Demon
Deacons to run down the shot clock, and Smith's driving scoop
shot in traffic with 1:30 left put it away.

"He's the fastest guy in the league going end to end. We know
that," Hewitt said. "We've had some success in the past guarding
him. But at the end of the game, we didn't make shots and he
created shots for his team."

Aminu hit only 7 of 18 shots, but the ACC's top rebounder
controlled the glass and added four steals. He also went over
500 career rebounds and Wake Forest put itself in position to
perhaps move into the rankings - possibly replacing Georgia
Tech.

"It would be cool to be ranked," Aminu said. "But I'd rather be
second in the league than ranked."

The Yellow Jackets fell behind early by 10 points, only to claw
back in it by hitting six of their first seven 3-point attempts.
Even Maurice Miller, who entered the game 2-for-22 from 3-point
range, drained one early.

Smith hit 1,000 career points on a bucket with just over 16
minutes left to put Wake Forest ahead 46-38. But then the Yellow
Jackets started hitting again from long distance, with Rice
making consecutive 3s.

Favors, who was without a field goal for nearly 29 minutes, had
consecutive buckets inside as Georgia Tech went ahead 62-60 with
8:50 left.

It turned out to be Georgia Tech's last field goal - and an end
result much different than on Jan. 28 in Atlanta when the Yellow
Jackets cruised to a 79-58 win.

"We can lay on the canvas, that was round one, or we could get
up and get after them," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "I
thought our kids responded well."

Wake Forest improved to 12-1 on its home floor, including 6-0 in
ACC contests.

Rice hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range, while Brian Oliver and
Miller scored 12 points each as Hewitt shook up his lineup some.
It didn't prevent a second straight loss.

"I have no quarrels with our effort," Hewitt said. "We played
very, very well. We missed (shots), they made."